5 Tech Brands Trying To Compete With Apple’s MacBook Neo

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Amid the ongoing silicon crisis that has led prices of consumer gadgets to rise, Apple introduced the MacBook Neo, its cheapest laptop ever. The MacBook Neo was first announced at a starting price of $599 for the 256 GB model, and $699 for the 512 GB variant. Although Apple hiked its gadget prices in July in response to the memory crisis by adding an extra $100 to each variant of the Neo, it still remains the cheapest MacBook model you can buy brand new. The MacBook Neo features a 13-inch IPS display, 8 GB of memory, 256 or 512 GB of storage, a 36.5 Wh battery, and a 1080p webcam in a lightweight 2.7 lbs package. 

With Apple finally taking a stab at the entry-level laptop market, it was only a matter of time before other major laptop manufacturers were forced to step up their game to try and take on the Neo. Because of its affordable sticker price, the MacBook Neo is simply a product that other tech companies couldn’t afford to ignore. Indeed, barely a few months after its launch, several tech brands have responded by introducing different laptops in an attempt to compete. 

If you’re in the market for a cheap laptop, there are quite a number of alternatives that you can consider. To identify these five tech brands trying to compete with the MacBook Neo, we’ve done our research by digging through manufacturer websites and news sites to find companies that have launched models that directly target Apple’s cheapest laptop.

Apple launched the MacBook Neo on March 4, 2026, and Dell didn’t wait long to reveal its answer. The company revealed toward the end of May that it would launch a new XPS 13 model starting at $699. Given its portability and price, it’s clear that Dell was trying to pitch the XPS 13 as an alternative to the MacBook Neo. In fact, Dell has a dedicated page on its website that pits the two models against each other. 

We’ve compared the XPS 13 and the MacBook Neo, and it’s a pretty tight race between the two. Although both models start at $699 — $599 for students – Dell offers 512 GB of storage in the base variant, while Apple only gives you 256 GB. The XPS 13 is also a tad lighter than the Neo, 2.2 lbs compared to 2.7 lbs. Screen-wise, you’re also getting a better panel on the XPS, as it not only offers touch-screen functionality but also 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and up to a 120 Hz high refresh rate. 

Dell’s XPS 13 also wins over the Neo by offering a backlit keyboard, more configuration options, and promises up to 17 hours of battery life (vs. the Neo’s 16 hours). In addition to the XPS 13, Dell has also announced the Dell 14S, another potential MacBook Neo competitor, and it also has other models that can be considered alternatives, like the $699 Dell 15.

Asus has also stepped up its game, and is now yet another tech brand trying to give the MacBook Neo a run for its money. The company’s model leading the charge is the ZenBook 14. For context, the ZenBook 14 starts at $799, $100 more expensive than the Neo. Despite a slight price disadvantage, the Asus ZenBook 14 looks like a good competitor to the Neo. It comes with a slightly bigger 14-inch screen, which supports 100% of the DCI-P3 color space and uses OLED display technology for inky blacks and richer colors, and you can configure it to include touchscreen functionality. 

While the MacBook Neo only offers a headphone jack and two USB-C ports, the ZenBook 14 is more versatile as it has a USB-A, HDMI 2.1, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and four USB-C ports. Its keyboard is backlit, which is something the Neo doesn’t offer. The ZenBook 14 promises over 21 hours of battery life and is powered by either an Intel, AMD, or Qualcomm chip, with up to 24 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage, depending on the processor. 

Besides the ZenBook 14, the company also has other laptop models that can compete with the MacBook Neo. For example, the Vivobook 16 sells at $619.99 and includes 8 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage, making it worth considering if you’re shopping for cheaper alternatives to the MacBook Neo that offer better specs. Also, the Vivobook 14 (X1407QA) is another worthy alternative.

Acer unveiled its MacBook Neo competitor, the Swift Air 14, at this year’s Computex in Taipei, Taiwan. The Swift Air 14 also has nearly the same selling points as the Neo. For starters, its $699.99 starting price makes it pretty affordable as well, and it also comes in a thin and light package for portability. However, it offers some extra goodies that make it a worthy alternative.

The Swift Air 14 features a slightly larger 14-inch IPS display panel with a higher 120 Hz refresh rate, which is something you won’t find on the Neo. An Intel Core Series 3 processor powers this laptop, paired with 8 GB of LPDDR5X memory (upgradeable to 16 GB) and up to 512 GB of storage. With a 69 Wh battery, nearly twice as much as the Neo’s 36.5 Wh cell, the Swift Air 14 promises up to 19 hours of video playback. This model offers you four ports: two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, one USB-A, and a headphone jack.

Apple offers the Neo in more fun colors than the MacBook Air and Pro, and Acer didn’t miss out on that detail on the Swift Air 14 — in addition to black and silver, it’s also available in purple, blue, pink, and green. Besides the Swift Air 14, which was clearly launched to compete with the Neo, there are other models in the company’s lineup that can take on Apple’s laptop, like the Acer Swift Go 15 and Aspire Vero Green.

Lenovo already has a well-diversified laptop portfolio that targets different types of users and price points, from the entry-level consumer to users seeking a premium high-end laptop. Despite that, the company responded to Apple’s launch of the MacBook Neo by launching a competitor, dubbed the Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe, that targets the same type of user. 

The Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe was launched at the IFA event held in Berlin, Germany. It’s an ultra-thin and lightweight laptop that sports either a 14-inch or 15-inch display. Lenovo gives you a choice between a Qualcomm Snapdragon, Intel Core or AMD Ryzen series chip, and the memory and storage are also configurable up to 24 GB and 1 TB, respectively. For the display, you also get to pick between LCD and OLED technology. The Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe launched at a starting price of $699, although as of this writing, it’s not available to order just yet.

It will only be available to buy from November 2026. Taking notes from Apple’s MacBook Neo playbook, Lenovo is also offering the IdeaPad Vibe in colors that pop. However, it has gone a mile further by offering a total of seven color options. Besides the IdeaPad Vibe, there are other laptop models in Lenovo’s lineup that can compete with the Neo, such as the IdeaPad Slim 3i, IdeaPad Slim 5x and IdeaPad Slim 3x.

While MSI revealed its Modern 14S AI+ laptop at CES 2026 back in January (before Apple unveiled the Neo), it was powered by Intel’s Core Ultra series chip. Then, once Apple dropped the Neo at the beginning of March, MSI revealed a shift in strategy at an event in Tokyo, revealing plans to introduce a budget non-AI+ Modern 14S powered by Intel’s Core Series 3 chip, indicating the company’s intention to compete with it. However, as of this writing, MSI has yet to reveal when the Modern 14S will be unveiled and what it will cost. 

But even before the Modern 14S is launched, the Modern 14S AI+ is also a worthy competitor. The MSI Modern 14S AI+ is a thin and light laptop with an aluminum alloy chassis. With a starting weight of 3.09 pounds, it’s heavier than the 2.7-lb Neo, but only by a slight margin. It features a 14-inch screen, and you get to pick between an IPS panel with a 48 to 120Hz refresh rate, as well as a 60 Hz OLED panel. 

Unlike the Neo, MSI’s model offers seven ports, including HDMI 2.1, RJ45 Ethernet, a micro SD card reader, two USB Type-C ports, and two USB Type-A ports. The Modern 14S AI+ is yet to launch in the U.S. Besides the MSI Modern 14S AI and Modern 14S, the company also has plans to launch the Modern 14 LE that will also compete with the Neo.

Even before the MacBook Neo hit the market, there were Windows and ChromeOS-powered laptops that you could get for cheap. As a result, to put together this list of tech brands that are positioning themselves to compete with Apple’s entry-level MacBook, we focused on more than just companies that have laptops selling for around the same price as the Neo. For a brand to be selected, it had to have launched (or plan to launch) a model or models specifically aimed at taking a stab at the MacBook Neo. We did so by checking the different models that have been revealed by various laptop brands since Apple launched the Neo in March. 

We’ve discussed how some of the MacBook Neo alternatives from each brand stack up against the Neo, but that doesn’t mean the mentioned model is the only worthy competitor. For those that haven’t released new models trying to compete with the Neo, we went through their current laptop lineup to see if there’s at least one model that offers a solid overall package that can compete with the Neo. We didn’t focus on the price alone, so some of the alternative models from these brands are pricier than the Neo.